As the value and use of information continues to increase, individuals and businesses seek additional ways to process and store information. One option available to users is information handling systems. An information handling system generally processes, compiles, stores, and/or communicates information or data for business, personal, or other purposes thereby allowing users to take advantage of the value of the information. Because technology and information handling needs and requirements vary between different users or applications, information handling systems may also vary regarding what information is handled, how the information is handled, how much information is processed, stored, or communicated, and how quickly and efficiently the information may be processed, stored, or communicated. The variations in information handling systems allow for information handling systems to be general or configured for a specific user or specific use such as financial transaction processing, airline reservations, enterprise data storage, or global communications. In addition, information handling systems may include a variety of hardware and software components that may be configured to process, store, and communicate information and may include one or more computer systems, data storage systems, and networking systems.
Flash memory is a non-volatile data storage device that can be electronically erased and reprogrammed. The performance of an information handling system, such as a server, may be improved by using flash memory which provides bulk storage and/or high speed caching. A Flash Solid-State Drive (“SSD”) is a type of flash memory that uses solid-state memory to store persistent data. An SSD emulates a hard disk drive interface and may replace it in many applications.
Small Computer System Interface (“SCSI”) is a set of standards for physically connecting and transferring data between information handling systems and peripheral devices such as data storage devices. Serial Attached SCSI (“SAS”) is an evolution of the traditional SCSI into a point-to-point serial peripheral interface in which controllers are linked directly to disk drives. SAS provides an improvement over the traditional SCSI because it enables multiple devices of different sizes and types to be connected simultaneously with thinner and longer cables. In addition, SAS drives can be hot-plugged. Specifically, SAS drives may be connected to or removed from an information handling system while the information handling system is running and the operating system of the information handling system can recognize that change.
Advanced Technology Attachment (“ATA”) is another disk drive implementation for an information handling system that integrates the controller on the disk drive itself. Serial ATA (“SATA”) is an evolution of the traditional ATA and is a serial link, typically consisting of a single cable with a minimum of four wires. The SATA creates a point-to-point connection between devices. The thin SATA cables facilitate more efficient air flow inside a form factor and also allow for smaller chassis designs. The term “form factor” refers to the physical shape and size of a device and may be used to describe the size of a circuit board.
Typically, the capabilities of SAS and SATA Flash SSDs may be limited by the interface. Specifically, the single or dual SATA or SAS lanes to the end data storage device may adversely impact system operations by causing latency and limiting throughput. Similarly, Flash Solid State Cards or Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (“PCIe”) Flash cards are limited by the confines of their respective form factors which support hot plug but not in a manner acceptable to system users.
Hot plug in a data center environment is preferably achieved through front or back loading modules. The current high performance storage form factor is the 2.5-inch hard disk drive. It is desirable to put PCIe SSDs in this form factor for system design and customer usage. However, from a system design perspective, co-locating two different connectors is challenging due to the need for front to back airflow in data center hardware. Specifically, two physical connectors, one for SAS devices and one for PCIe devices, block any opportunity for cooling vent holes in the storage device backplanes. One existing solution is the Small Form Factor Committee (SFF) 8639 connector, which provides for six differential and bidirectional lanes of traffic for communication via relevant SAS and PCIe standards. Such a format limits communication to six total lanes, with SAS communication limited to four lanes at a time and PCIe communication limited to four lanes at a time. Solutions whereby eight lanes of communication are supported, with all lanes capable of supporting up to eight lanes of communication for PCIe or for SAS, and a combination of PCIe and SAS lanes (e.g., four of each), may be desired. Another existing solution the SFF-9639 connector.
Such eight-lane solutions have been proposed, such as that set forth in the specification for the SFF-8631 connector. However, such solutions may not provide backwards compatibility or interoperability with storage media or other information handling resources designed for use with the six-lane SFF-8639 or SFF-9639 connector.